Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Telangana IT & Urban Development Minister, Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao 'KTR' on Saturday launched the 10 bed-ICU initiative to combat the COVID wave in rural areas via video conference. According to a release, 10-Bed-ICU (10BedICU.org) is a PPP (private-public-partnership) project between the state government and a group of NGOs.
The first critical care ICU unit was inaugurated on Saturday in the Narayanpet district of Telangana, under the banner of 10 bed-ICU. Minister KTR and Vinod Khosla, Founder Partner, Khosla Ventures, CA, USA were the Chief Guests for the event. The goal of the 10 bed-ICU projects is to cover every district in the country with at least one 10-Bed-ICU facility to combat COVID waves in rural India.
The types of equipment which are provided to set up an ICU: Infusion pumps, ICU flower bed with mobility. multi-channel monitor, ventilator with backup, stainless steel silver crash cart ICU medical trolley with plastic bins, Oxygen concentrator, oxygen D-Type cylinders with a trolly, ICU bed cum trolly Hi-Low 105, suction apparatus.
The Telangana IT Minister said that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has prioritized the Healthcare infrastructure.
"After the formation of Telangana, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has given a top priority to Healthcare infrastructure in the State. In the last seven years, the Telangana government has added 1,600 ICU beds apart from setting up five new medical colleges, while another seven medical colleges are in the pipeline," said KTR.
KT Rama Rao also highlighted that the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad presently has one of the largest ICUs in the country with 600 beds. He has promised his active support of the 10-Bed-ICU project to not only cover 33 district and area government secondary hospitals in Telangana but also to help take this initiative to the rest of the country. The Minister listed several initiatives in Telangana to prepare the state for the third and subsequent COVID waves.
According to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Telangana on Saturday reported 1,661 new COVID-19 cases with 3,821 recoveries and 15 deaths. The total active cases of the state remain at 30,918 with 5,53,400 total recoveries and 3,346 deaths.
(Image Credits: PTI/ANI/PIXABAY)